These reference sources can provide you with good background information on a variety of topics related to firefighting

Science in Context provides detailed coverage of popular subjects from earth science and life science, to space, technology, mathematics and science history. Sources include Gale Encyclopedia of Science, Chemical Elements, Science in Dispute and Macmillan Science Library.
U-X-L Encyclopedia of Weather and Natural Disasters
by
Amy Hackney Blackwell; Elizabeth P. Manar